Rutherford Mall
Rutherford Mall is an outdoor and indoor shopping mall in Edwardsville, Illinois that was built in 1978. It has been in operations ever since then. The Mall is owned by J.J. Lowell Real Estate. History Establishment and prosperity (1978-1996) In 1976, developers from the two growing shopping center real estate giants Kimco Realty and J.J. Lowell Real Estate began plans of developing land next to I-55 outside of Edwardsville, Illinois into a large scale shopping Center. Soon, the companies bought the land, with plans of having dual ownership of the center. They would break ground on January 3, 1977. The mall would officially open on May 2, 1978, although a majority of the mall at the point was not yet completed. Soon, several retailers such as Casual Corner, Gadzooks, County Seat, and J.C. Penney moved into the mall. Eventually, over time, the malls popularity grew due to its close proximity to the interstate and the lack of a large scale shopping mall in the area. The mall underwent a rapid period of growth during the late 70's and early 80's, as the mall in its entirety was finished. In 1983, the mall had 3 major anchor stores, with J.C. Penney, Dilliard's, and Sears. In 1984, the companies owning the mall would announce that they would expand the mall, adding two more anchor stores. In 1985, the anchor stores would be announced as Kroger and The Home Depot. The Mall would continue to prosper throughout the 80's. The mall would win the award for best place to shop in the St. Louis metro area in 1986, 1987, 1989, and 1990. In 1988, it would win the award for best mall in the state of Illinois. In 1991, Kimco Realty would sell its 50% stake in the mall to J.J. Lowell, giving J.J. Lowell full ownership over the mall. In the early 90's, several gangs of local kids would begin to make the mall there hangout spot. Many of this kids would be criminals, witch would drive away many regular shoppers at the mall. In 1992, five stores in the mall would be robbed (Dilliard's, Gadzooks, Abercrombie & Fitch, American Eagle, and Elder-Beerman), up from just 1 in the last three years. In 1993, that number would rise to 11. Soon, local police would constantly have to patrol the mall, to avoid this from continuing. In 1995, the number would finally go down to 8. By 1996, the number of shoppers would begin to rise once again. However, in 1997, the number of robberies would once again rise to 13. Decline 1997-2010 In 1997, shops would note a large decline in customers, mainly due to the large amount of increasing crime on the property. By 1998, several of the smaller businesses would begin to go out of business, and the large anchor stores would begin to downsize. In 1999, the decline in customers would be made even worse largely due to the rapid growth of online shopping. In January, the first anchor store would close as the mall's J.C. Penney would go out of business. Category:Illinois Places Category:Shopping Malls